Not sure where that place is but we went to Hakuba a couple of years ago for snow boarding and it was fantastic. The snow was about four meters deep. The mountains were bloody big. The food was great. Onsen were very relaxing.

The prices were reasonable but back then a dollar was buying ninety nine yen.


I think there are some Aussie websites dealing with Japanese snowsports.

Hokkaido (Niseko and others) is a good one - but lose 2 days travel (1 day each way) due to connecting flight / transfers - so a 10 day trip becomes 8 days of skiing - barring weather shut downs.

if you are on a shorter trip look at options on the mainland out of Tokyo - plane arrives early am - the bullet train / bus transfer and you are riding that afternoon.
The easiest area to get to is the Nagano zone - which accesses Hakuba, Shiga Kogen and a very special place i like alot -called Nozawa Onsen.

Shiga is big but mostly caters to skiers -lots of "fairways" but does have 1 nice zone with a nifty little park. You cant ride all of shiga as it doesnt link up (you need bus transfers to get from zone to zone - which eats up time) - atmosphere is nice but a bit modern. Board in board out possible

Nozawa is my fave - awesome character town and nearly ski in ski out (3 min walk to access the snow) - Nozawa has some nice off piste stuff in the trees when the snow is fluffy.

Cant comment on Hakuba but i have heard good things


The northern island does get a bit more snow - however the options out of Tokyo compensate with a bit more elevation.

Jan / feb are the best months - i have been there late march and its still been fun

Japan is a great place - enjoy the culture. Try and spend a day or 2 on tokyo. I reckon 2 weeks is a good minimum to aim for on you first trip.

Hey if you go visit ExtremeKites there are quite a few travelling snowkiters that inhabit the place.

Also international kiters go there also

...and less chance of a North Korean nuclear strike.